BioShock 4has been officially confirmed as in development. Though nobody knows how far along the game is, the newly-formed Cloud Chamber studio is definitely working onBioShock4, though it’s still years away.
The only real thing known is that it is, in fact, aBioShockgame, complete with first-person-shooter gameplay intact. While the gameplay of theBioShockgames is definitely well-crafted, what draws many players into the franchise is the world itself.BioShockis a series that creates visually stunning, imaginative, and philosophically-charged worlds that challenge player’s conceptions of the world, society, and their place in it. A setting/story-type that would be a perfect fit forBioShock’s brand of storytelling and worldbuilding would be a setting that’s been around for a long, long time: the Western.
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The Settings Of BioShock
What makesBioShocka franchise with ludicrous potential is the fact that this kind of world can be crafted in just about any kind of setting.BioShock4will likely keep this hugely important feature, it could still do some very new things, especially considering how long it’s been since aBioShockgame has released. The series has already explored two incredibly different settings in both Rapture and Colombia; worlds that have enough similarities to cement them asBioShocksettings, but are different enough to give the games their own unique feel. The worlds in these games are, at face value, polar opposites.
BioShock’s Raptureis an undersea, neon-infused city in a state of perpetual nighttime. It’s a society that rejected the idea of viewing society as a group, instead focusing on the Ayn Rand style of philosophy where each person acts in their own self-interest. There was no big-brother oversight, allowing art, science, and capitalism to roam unchecked. This led to a societal collapse, leading players to the conclusion that people acting in their own self-interest, unchecked, are going to end up hurting others for their own gain.
Colombia takes this philosophy in the other direction, using religion as a way to attempt to unify people (or, in this society’s eyes, the ‘right people’) under a common goal. This is a very broad generalization ofInfinite,as there’s a lot going on with the main character here. But, simply in regards to the setting, that’s the gist of it. This is another society that has gone a full ten out of ten towards an idea, and another society that fails in a huge way because of that.BioShock4could followInfinite’s lead away from horror, as the Colombia setting was not as outwardly frightening as the city of Rapture, though the game still did have its moments.
The Structure Of A Western
While obviously not every Western is the same, most of them contain many of the same thoughts and ideas about individuality, as well as society as a whole. Westerns generally contain a main character that is resistant to the changes in society. Right or wrong, they hold old-school values that serve as the basis for their actions throughout the story and serve as the basis for how the evolving society treats them. Usually, the main character comes up against a form of antagonism that only they can successfully oppose, as the antagonism hits the society in a specific way that they cannot cope with. The main character either succeeds, or fails, because of the values they hold that are different than that of the society around them.
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What Would A Western BioShock Look Like?
Looking at howBioShockgenerally deconstructs a philosophical argument that’s been pushed to the max and looking at how the usual Western is structured, it’s possible to see what a WesternBioShockgame could possibly look like. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the BioShock game would have to take place in the time period of most Westerns, or even in the American West; it just means that it would be a story and world that has a similar artistic style and themes. It’d be a really easy way forBioShock4to introduce a new setting.
ABioShockWestern would need some kind of glue that holds the society together, a glue that’s been pushed to the max, to fit into theBioShockseries while also fitting into the Western genre. The antithesis of this glue, then, would be the form of antagonism that the society faces. This would be a great way to examine two mirrored philosophies in the same game, and depending on the main character’s role, it could set them both up as antagonistic to the other instead of a black/white morality where one side is good and one side is bad.Red Dead Redemption 2did something along these lines, withArthur and the Dutch van der Linde gangperforming in the morally grey to occasionally straight-up morally black area (somewhat depending on how the player plays).
The main character, then, would need to be someone that doesn’t necessarily fit the values of the general society, but also doesn’t quite fit into whatever form of outlaws this world holds, either. Westerns usually have a heavy emphasis on justice, just not a justice that the system can provide; a form of justice only someone from outside the system can provide. If the main form of society is shifting towards law-and-order/authoritarianism, and the outlaws are anarchists, then the main character would need to be able to experience both points of view from somewhere in between.
With the possibility of two philosophical arguments in a WesternBioShock,it could also put player choice further into the equation thanBioShockever has before. Huge, world-changing decisions could be made by the player, depending on which side (if either) the player decides to choose in different scenarios. Admittedly, it could be difficult to provide the same narrative experience that theBioShockgames are known for if there’s an overabundance of player choice, but games likeThe Witcher 3have proved that it is possible. Plus, there’s aBioShock4job listing hints at more RPG elements.
Regardless, it would be exciting to see how theBioShockseries would treat a Western. The series and the genre seem to fit so well together; maybe the reason it hasn’t happened yet is because it almost fits too well.BioShockhas always created worlds that are somewhat shocking, and with it being so easy to see howBioShockcould work as a Western game, a genre that already deals with philosophical questions on the regular, maybe the developers decided that it would be too predictable. Either way,BioShock 4has tons of potential, and fans are excited to see what it’s all about.
BioShock 4is in development.
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